Shloka 249
द्रौपदी-शैब्यसंवादः — Draupadī’s Identification and Counsel on Hospitality
इति श्रीमहाभारते वनपर्वणि घोषयात्रापर्वणि दुर्योधनप्रायोपवेशे एकोनपजञ्चाशदधिकद्वधिशततमो< ध्याय:
iti śrīmahābhārate vanaparvaṇi ghoṣayātrāparvaṇi duryodhanaprāyopaveśe ekonapañcāśadadhikadvīśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ
かくして『聖マハーバーラタ』の「森住篇（ヴァナ・パルヴァ）」、とりわけ「牛群遠征（ゴーシャ・ヤートラー）」の段において、ドゥルヨーダナの死に至る断食の決意を扱う章は終わる。これが第二百四十九章である。この奥書は、驕りと屈辱、そして政治的対立が一人の王子を自滅の極へと追い込み、諫言と介入、さらには「絶望を武器とすること」への倫理的吟味が展開される舞台を整える転機を示している。
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The colophon highlights an ethical tension: when wounded pride and rivalry push a leader toward self-destruction, the act (prāyopaveśa) becomes morally charged—raising questions about rightful resolve versus manipulative despair, and the need for wise counsel to prevent adharma-driven extremes.
This is the chapter-ending colophon for the episode in which Duryodhana undertakes (or resolves upon) prāyopaveśa—fasting unto death—within the Ghoṣa-yātrā sequence of the Vana Parva, marking the close of the two-hundred-and-forty-ninth chapter.